A treadmill is a device generally used for walking, running, or climbing while staying in the same place. Treadmills were introduced before the development of powered machines to harness the power of animals or humans to do work, often a type of mill operated by a person or animal treading the steps of a treadwheel to grind grain. In later times, treadmills were used as punishment devices for people sentenced to hard labour in prisons. The terms treadmill and treadwheel were used interchangeably for the power and punishment mechanisms. More recently, treadmills have instead been used as exercise machines for running or walking in one place. Rather than the user powering a mill, the device provides a moving platform with a wide conveyor belt driven by an electric motor or a flywheel. The belt moves to the rear, requiring the user to walk or run at a speed matching the belt. The rate at which the belt moves is the rate of walking or running. Thus, the speed of running may be controlled and measured. The more expensive, heavy-duty versions are motor-driven (usually by an electric motor). The simpler, lighter, and less expensive versions passively resist the motion, moving only when walkers push the belt with their feet. The latter are known as manual treadmills. Treadmills continue to be the biggest-selling exercise equipment category by a large margin. As a result, the treadmill industry has hundreds of manufacturers throughout the world.
History William Staub, a mechanical engineer, developed the first consumer treadmill for home use. Staub developed his treadmill after reading the 1968 book, Aerobics by Kenneth H. Cooper. Cooper's book noted that individuals who ran for eight minutes four to five times a week would be in better physical condition. Staub noticed that there were no affordable household treadmills at the time and decided to develop one for his use during the late 1960s. He called his first treadmill the PaceMaster 600. Once finished, Staub sent his prototype treadmill to Cooper, who found the machine's first customers, including sellers of fitness equipment. Staub began producing the first home treadmills at his plant in Clifton, New Jersey, before moving production to Little Falls, New Jersey.
Functions
Use for power
Treadmills as power sources originated in antiquity. These ancient machines had three major types of design. The first was a horizontal bar jutting out of a vertical shaft. It rotated around a vertical axis, driven by an ox or other animal walking in a circle and pushing the bar. Humans were also used to power these. The second design was a vertical wheel, a treadwheel, that was powered by climbing in place instead of walking in circles. This is similar to what we know today as the hamster wheel. The third design also required climbing but used a sloped, moving platform instead. Treadmills as muscle-powered engines originated roughly 4000 years ago. Their primary use was to lift buckets of water. This same technology was later adapted to create rotary grain mills and the treadwheel crane. It was also used to pump water and power dough-kneading machines and bellows.
Use for punishment
Treadmills for punishment were introduced in 1818 by an English engineer named Sir William Cubitt, who was the son of a miller. Noting idle prisoners at Bury St Edmunds gaol, he proposed using their muscle power to both cure their idleness and produce useful work. Cubitt's treadmills for punishment usually rotated around a horizontal axis, requiring the user to step upwards, like walking up an endless staircase. Those punished walked around the outside of the wheel holding a horizontal handrail for stability. By the Prison Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 126) every male prisoner over 16, sentenced to hard labour, had to spend three months at least of his sentence in the labour of first class, which consisted primarily of the treadmill. Punishment treadmills remained in use until the second half of the 19th century; they were typically twenty-foot (6 m) long paddle wheels with twenty-four steps around a six-foot (1.82 m) cylinder. Several prisoners stood side-by-side on a wheel and had to work six or more hours a day, effectively climbing 5,000 to 14,000 vertical feet (1500 to 4000 m). While the purpose was mainly punitive, the most infamous mill at Brixton Prison was installed in 1821 and used to grind grain to supplement an existing windmill which Cubitt had previously installed nearby. It gained notoriety for the cruelty with which it was used, which then became a popular satirical metaphor for early-19th century prisons. The machines could also pump water or power ventilators in mines.
Use for exercise The first American patent for a treadmill "training machine" (#1,064,968) was issued on June 17, 1913. The forerunner of the exercise treadmill was designed to diagnose heart and lung diseases, and was invented by Robert Bruce and Wayne Quinton at the University of Washington in 1952. Kenneth H. Cooper's research on the benefits of aerobic exercise, published in 1968, provided a medical argument to support the commercial development of the home treadmill and exercise bike. The average lifespan of a treadmill is about 7 to 12 years.
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